Organisational and system change
Reduce barriers to ensuring clients receive a trauma-informed, rights-based interaction
Many of the barriers to ensuring clients receive a trauma-informed, rights-based interaction with the justice system are not able to be addressed by additional, innovative practice models, but will require changes to existing services and practice. Organisational policy and broader system reform is also required.
This section details suggestions for improving existing services by providing concrete examples of flexible, responsive, respectful and helpful service delivery. This is followed by a policy document audit tool, a discussion on attracting and allocating resources, and examples of system reform activities.
Flexible, responsive, respectful and helpful service delivery
Promoting flexible and responsive service delivery in your legal service is crucial for implementing trauma-informed and rights-based practices.
Legal services that are not flexible and responsive can have significant negative impacts on clients with a history of trauma, including re-traumatisation. This can occur when rigid procedures or a lack of understanding inadvertently trigger past traumas, causing distress and potentially leading to a re-experiencing of traumatic events. Clients may also feel misunderstood or not heard, which can lead to a breakdown in the lawyer-client relationship. This could result in clients disengaging from the legal process. Where clients feel unsafe or uncomfortable, they may be reluctant to fully disclose necessary information, which can hinder the legal process and potentially result in less favourable outcomes for the client.
For example, business-as-usual in a legal service might involve a standardised intake process for all clients, regardless of their individual circumstances. This could involve a set list of questions dictated by funding agreements, asked in a specific order, with little room for deviation based on the client's responses or emotional state.
In contrast, a flexible and responsive service delivery model that promotes trauma-informed and rights-based practice might involve a more personalised intake process. This could mean allowing clients to share their story in their own way and at their own pace, rather than adhering strictly to a predetermined set of questions. It might also involve providing clients with information about their rights at the outset, ensuring they understand the legal process, and regularly checking in with them about their comfort level throughout the interaction.
Example of shift in service delivery: End-to-end trauma-informed communication
End-to-end trauma-informed communication is a vital component of an integrated, trauma-informed practice. It involves ensuring every communication touchpoint with a client, right from the initial contact to the conclusion of their case, is handled with empathy, respect, and a deep understanding of the potential impacts of trauma.
For instance, an initial email acknowledging a client's request for an appointment could include words of appreciation for reaching out, recognising the courage it might have taken for the client to make that step. It should also assure them that their matter will be taken seriously and treated with utmost confidentiality and care. Additionally, it is critical to manage their expectations realistically, such as by clearly stating expected response times or outlining the next steps in the process.
Legal services that commonly need to ‘break bad news’, for example inviting a father to a family dispute resolution mediation, or intake and referral officers who must advise people subject to compulsory treatment orders at hospital to wait for a duty lawyer to visit them, should ensure that scripts are as trauma-informed in their language as possible.
It is essential to ensure the client feels heard, understood, and respected throughout their journey with your organisation. A trauma-informed approach to communication can significantly influence a client's experience with your services and their willingness to engage and follow through with the legal process. It may also reduce the number of times they contact the service in distress. It can also support their overall healing process and empower them to play an active role in their case.
Flexible and responsive service: North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS)
Some shifts in service delivery will be more profound, requiring a complete reform of how services are provided. The North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service is one example.
The North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS) offers a holistic approach to supporting their clients, providing both legal and non-legal services to address various client needs. They understand that legal concerns often come with ancillary challenges, such as housing, mental health, or substance abuse issues. Consequently, they employ case/client support workers who go above and beyond traditional legal support. These support workers provide critical court assistance, secure transport, and even advocate for housing or other services. They also refer clients to counselling, mental health services, and alcohol and other drug services, acknowledging that these issues often intersect with their clients' legal problems.
NAAFLS operates from three offices in Darwin, Katherine and Nhulunbuy, but their work spans over 50 communities in the Top End, East Arnhem and Big Rivers regions. By setting up a schedule of community visits throughout the year, they bring their services to the people who need them the most. This is a crucial aspect of their approach as it recognises that the communities they serve often face accessibility issues. During these visits, NAAFLS teams stay in communities for two to three days, providing consistent, on-the-ground services, which helps to build trust with community members.
One of the most remarkable aspects of NAAFLS' approach is their commitment to long-term community engagement, an approach that counteracts a common issue in the Northern Territory, namely the high churn of professional services. By maintaining a stable presence, NAAFLS counters the baseline distrust that can occur with constant changes in service provision. They foster a sense of consistency and reliability that reassures clients and fosters positive, productive relationships.
Further, NAAFLS have developed unique client management practices that reframe disengagement, acknowledging that some clients may need different forms of support or engagement strategies. By adjusting their approach to fit the individual needs of their clients, NAAFLS goes the extra mile in ensuring all clients feel supported, heard, and understood, furthering their mission to provide holistic, trauma-informed legal services.
The NAAFLS example will not be applicable to all legal services or contexts. Flexible and respectful service delivery also occurs in each individual interaction that lawyers and other professionals have with each client. The following examples, from the With You consultations, illustrate the ways in which these interactions can be more flexible, responsive, respectful and helpful.
Respectful, trauma-informed lawyering from the With You consultations
According to clients we spoke to as part of the With You consultations, the following factors could help build trust and support decision-making when working with lawyers.
Not helpful or respectful of clients
Processes that indicate that the lawyer’s time is more valuable than the client’s
Having very long or short meetings, expecting people to share their whole story or make difficult legal decisions in one session
Expecting people to understand what it means to have a lawyer, or what to expect from legal processes
Using legal jargon when talking to someone, and not explaining legal concepts
Being rude, dismissive or judgmental, e.g., telling people to ‘get over’ things or ‘tone down’ how they share information
Speaking only to someone’s support person instead of them
Automatically believing ‘official’ things that are written or said about clients, and treating these things as fact, e.g., medical records and diagnoses
Cutting someone off or dismissing information that is not strictly about the legal matter
Making promises you can’t keep, whether about services or court processes
Helpful, respectful
Respecting each person’s time, without rushing. If you only have a short time available to speak with someone, be open about this from the outset. Slow things down when people want to slow down
Building trust with the client by building a relationship. For one-off meetings, making sure you can take breaks, reschedule or follow-up with your service if necessary. Even small moments of connection establish a trusting relationship that can save time later
Checking in with the person about what they might want more information on. Being open to explaining service eligibility, expectations, lawyer-client relationships and information-sharing in detail
Checking in with the client about their understanding of what is going on, whether they would like more information
Being respectful, and led by each client. Understand that legal processes can be stressful and re-traumatising
Checking in with the client about how they would like you to speak with their support person. Remember they are your client, and you are working with them
Being on your client’s side, believing and respecting their experiences and identity
Letting people tell their stories, and share what they think is relevant
Keeping promises, and being honest and transparent with your client to support them in making decisions
Flexible and respectful service delivery from the With You consultations
According to clients we spoke to as part of the With You consultations, the following factors could make services feel flexible, appropriate and responsive, when implemented by organisations and legal professionals.
Not flexible or responsive to clients
Formal, stuffy environment, with intimidating barriers between clients and staff
Having a call-back only phone system, or very limited hours of the service being available on the phone
Not explaining service eligibility criteria to someone until they have shared their whole story
Not allowing clients to bring or work with support people
Refusing people services or automatically closing their case if they miss appointments
Making cold referrals to services that are inappropriate or do not have capacity to work with people
Online only communications, primarily through email and online meetings
Expecting people to print out documents
Physically inaccessible, e.g., does not allow for people to access the service in wheelchairs
Flexible, responsive
Informal environment, welcoming to clients
Having professionals available to take calls and answer the phones. If this is not possible, there is a delay in returning calls, or expected wait times, make this clear on public materials about the service, answering machine messages and individual communications. Even automated messages can be trauma-informed.
Discussing service eligibility on initial phone calls, and explaining what information will be used for so clients can make informed decisions about what information to share
Understanding the importance of support people, and supporting clients to make informed choices about the potential consequences of having support people in legal meetings or at court
Understanding that people can have a range of reasons for missing appointments, offering to check in or reschedule
Making warm referrals, checking in with services about eligibility and waitlists. Having referrals handy for national helplines where local services are unavailable or overwhelmed
Discussing how people can access your service with each client, in the understanding that not everyone has a computer or smartphone. Talking about and respecting each person’s communication preferences, and providing referrals to services that provide the person’s preference mode of engagement
Being flexible about how people can sign and engage with paperwork. If you require documents to be printed and signed, offering to print them out and provide them to clients or to send them directly to service providers, e.g. a doctor that you need a support letter from
Physically accessible, and accessibility information is provided to clients and available on public information about the service
Trauma-informed, rights-based organisational policies and procedures
A trauma-informed, rights-based organisation requires organisational policies and procedures that reflect this approach. Strategic and operational plans should embed a trauma-informed, rights-based approach as a fundamental organisational principle which should be reflected in written policies and procedures. This policy document audit tool can be used to assess organisational policies and areas for further development.
Audit tool: Policy documents
Purpose: Does the policy clearly define its intent and purpose, particularly in relation to trauma-informed, rights-based practice? Does it make clear who it applies to?
Definitions: Are key concepts, such as trauma, trauma-informed care, and human rights, clearly and accurately defined?
Principles: Does the policy outline principles aligned with trauma-informed and rights-based practices, such as safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment?
Procedures: Are there clear procedures laid out in the policy that adhere to trauma-informed, rights-based principles? For example, procedures for obtaining informed consent, maintaining confidentiality, or managing disclosures of trauma.
Roles and Responsibilities: Does the policy clearly state who is responsible for ensuring its implementation and adherence to its principles? Is there accountability?
Education and Training: Does the policy indicate the need for regular training on trauma-informed care and rights-based practices for all client-facing employees?
Support for Employees: Does the policy indicate how the organisation will support staff in implementing trauma-informed and rights-based practices, such as through training, supervision, or other support structures?
Client Involvement: Does the policy involve clients in decision-making processes and respect their autonomy?
Review and Improvement: Does the policy specify a regular review process, including opportunities for feedback and improvement?
To quantify the assessment, a scoring system can be used. Each policy can be rated against these criteria on a scale, for example, from 1 (not at all present) to 5 (fully implemented). This can provide a clear overview of areas where your organisation is performing well and where there are opportunities for improvement.
Attracting and allocating resources
Shifting to a trauma-informed, rights-based approach is not inherently more resource intensive, and may have overall cost savings as clients receive more targeted and better quality services which can reduce service reuse. Clients who have their underlying needs met may be less likely to require legal, health and welfare services in the future. However, any journey of organisational transformation requires an investment of resources, both human and financial. Despite the scarcity of resourcing in the legal assistance sector, the many examples shown in this toolkit and identified in the With You consultations show that organisations, governments and philanthropic organisations are increasingly prepared to invest.
The With You project itself is a leading example of this approach. The With You training is provided free to all legal assistance sector organisations and requires only the investment of staff time to complete the training. In some cases, such as Victoria Legal Aid’s Independent Family Advocacy and Support, trauma-informed rights-based services have been shown to provide a positive return on investment, saving governments money. In other examples, such as partnerships with health and welfare services, they increase the quality of service provided without requiring substantial financial investment. However, more substantial organisational change will require additional resources.
In some settings and contexts, such as work with older persons, mental health and disability, trauma-informed and rights-based approaches including integrated practice and client involvement are becoming normalised and expected by funders. In others, such as the provision of criminal legal services, this shift is yet to occur. Legal services can leverage areas where governments and other funders are prepared to invest in trauma-informed and rights-based approaches, and creatively deploy resources into areas where they are not.
Examples of government investment
Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Elder Abuse Service Trials
In 2018, the Australian Government's launched the Protecting the Rights of Older Australians Program, allocating $18.3 million over a four-year term, including funding for legal services in all Australian jurisdictions. The aim of this investment was to enhance the safeguarding of older Australians' rights and to counter elder abuse. Service designs included specialist elder abuse units, health-justice partnerships and case management and mediation services.
A 2023 independent evaluation of the service trials found that clients valued the opportunity to speak with knowledgeable and supportive individuals who validated their experiences of elder abuse in a trauma-informed way. Such interactions made them aware of their potential options, particularly legal ones, to address elder abuse, while empowering them to take action to uphold their rights if they decided to do so. Moreover, clients greatly appreciated the practical support offered through non-legal casework. They were not only offered remedies but were also actively pursuing avenues to maintain their rights through legal restitution.
Support for partnerships and integrated practice is growing faster than support for client involvement. There are some examples of support for client involvement, such as the Victorian Government Department of Health, which has recently initiated the first codesigned legal service development process that puts clients at the centre of decision-making about service design.
Codesign of Mental Health Tribunal Representation
In 2021, the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System recommended an increase in legal representation at the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal. The Victorian Government Department of Health announced increased funding in 2022, with the stipulation that the increased service delivery be codesigned. This process includes the Mental Health Legal Centre, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Victoria Legal Aid, and involves bringing mental health consumers, carers, families, supporters and kin, lawyers, advocates, mental health clinicians and other stakeholders together in a rigorous codesign process over a series of workshops. This process aims to embed award winning principles for consumer-centred lawyering, which were also developed via a codesign process under contract from the Victorian Government.
System reform activities
Legal assistance services have a critical understanding and invaluable data regarding the systemic issues facing communities experiencing marginalisation.
Benefits of system reform
Engaging in system reform activities can have several tangible benefits for your legal assistance organisation. Systemic work can enhance your organisation's reputation and credibility. By taking a leading role in system reform, you can demonstrate your commitment to social justice and legal innovation. This can make your organisation more attractive to potential clients, collaborators, and funders.
When clients see that their experiences, particularly those that have been difficult or traumatic, are taken seriously by your organisation and used as a basis for advocating for systemic changes, it can be deeply empowering. Acknowledging the systemic barriers and injustices they have faced validates their experiences and shifts the narrative from trauma being somehow attributable to individual failures. It signals to them that they are not alone in their struggle, and that these are shared issues that need collective action. Participation in system reform can add meaning to client’s negative experiences, while giving a sense that they are working to prevent others from experiencing trauma.
System reform can lead to changes that make it easier for your organisation to achieve its mission. For example, advocacy for policy or legislative change can result in more streamlined procedures, better resource allocation or enhanced access to justice for your clients, which in turn can make your services more effective.
Participation in system reform activities can provide opportunities for capacity building within your organisation. It exposes your team to broader debates, allows for networking with other professionals and thought leaders in the field, and can foster a culture of continual learning and improvement. Staff who are supported and resourced to participate in systemic reform work can find meaning in this work that reduces their susceptibility to burnout. This increased profile can make your organisation more attractive to potential employees who are passionate about making a difference. This can assist in recruitment and retention of high-quality staff.
System reform can have a greater cumulative impact than advocacy for individual clients, for example, if a legal system or departmental policy is operating in a discriminatory manner.
System reform work can also open avenues for new partnerships and collaborations. Working alongside other organisations towards common goals can lead to sharing of resources, knowledge, and best practices. It can also lead to collaborations on funding applications, shared training initiatives and joint service delivery models.
What does system reform include?
Systemic change does not necessitate every lawyer or other profession’s direct involvement in activities such as submission writing. Instead, it is about cultivating an environment where information, emerging trends and insights about the legal system’s impact on clients can be shared from those at the frontline to those in influential and decision-making positions.
Systemic reform is essential to creating sustainable changes that address the root causes of the legal challenges that clients face. Lawyers can engage in a variety of system reform activities that extend beyond traditional legal work and can facilitate this change.
Strategic Legal Advocacy is a key element of system reform, where lawyers take on cases with a broader aim of influencing the interpretation and application of laws. By strategically selecting and arguing cases, they can spotlight systemic issues and inspire legal changes that benefit broader populations.
Legislative Advocacy allows lawyers to shape the laws themselves. They can draft legislation, propose amendments, or advocate for the passage of laws that address systemic issues. Their understanding of the practical operation of laws on their clients, including providing case studies with client consent, is invaluable in improving the legal system.
Policy Advocacy provides lawyers the opportunity to change the policies and practices of institutions that have a significant impact on clients. They can lobby, engage in policy debates, or collaborate with other organisations or their peak bodies to drive these changes. For example, lobbying for an expansion of eligibility for hardship policies in debt recovery can have a wide ripple effect.
Community Legal Education can help spread awareness and understanding of legal rights and systemic issues in the broader community. Lawyers can provide workshops, develop resources, or give presentations to inform and empower the public in response to emerging trends in their legal practice.
Collaborations and Partnerships enable lawyers to join forces with professionals from other sectors, community groups, other legal organisations and forums such as interagency working groups, Court User Groups or Regional Justice Partnerships. Together, they can present a united front against systemic issues, sharing knowledge, resources, and influence.
Supporting Client Self-Advocacy is a powerful way of driving system reform. Lawyers can empower their clients to advocate for their own rights and needs, providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills. This not only aids the individual clients but also helps to create a society more aware of, and able to stand up against, systemic issues. For example, lawyers can refer clients who are interested in sharing their story to advocacy organisations or relevant Royal Commissions; provide platforms for them to speak to legal conferences; tell their stories in policy submissions.
Training and Mentorship are crucial to sustaining system reform efforts. By sharing their knowledge and skills with less experienced lawyers, the advocates for systemic reform can cultivate a new generation of lawyers ready to continue the fight against systemic issues. All these activities, combined, can bring about long-lasting, impactful change that goes beyond helping individual clients to transforming the system itself.
Research and Publication activities help to build the evidence base that supports systemic reform. Lawyers can engage in original research, contribute to scholarly literature, or publish reports that highlight systemic issues and propose solutions.
Systemic change campaign: Raise the Age
The Raise the Age campaign is an initiative advocating for the age of criminal responsibility to be increased from 10 to at least 14 years old. Legal assistance sector peak bodies, organisations such as National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and the Human Rights Law Centre, and health and advocacy organisations are key drivers of the campaign.
The campaign is driven by the belief that children perform better when they are nurtured, supported, and allowed to participate in normal childhood activities, such as going to school and playing with friends. They argue that incarcerating children, particularly those as young as ten, does not make communities safer but instead sets many on a path to further offending and involvement in the adult criminal justice system.
The campaign highlights the fact that in one year almost 600 children aged between ten and thirteen were incarcerated in Australia, with thousands more going through the criminal legal system. It points out that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are disproportionately affected and argues that Australia is significantly out of step with international standards.
Raise the Age advocates for a change in laws by the federal, state, and territory governments, urging them to give children the help they need to heal, grow, and thrive, rather than imprisoning them. The campaign also promotes the use of alternatives to prison that are already in place across Australia, such as prevention, early intervention, and diversionary programs and services, which help set at-risk young people on a brighter path.
On 1 November 2023, the ACT Legislative Assembly passed legislation to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 from mid-2025, the first Australian jurisdiction to do so.
Supporting clients in system reform
Not all systemic change takes the form of public campaigns. Increasingly, legal services are supporting clients in system reform activities. knowmore is a salient example of this kind of work, supporting the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Other examples include Your Story, which supported people to share their stories with the Commonwealth Disability Royal Commission, and Your Story, Your Say, which supported people to tell their stories to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Despite shared values and approaches, these examples represent vast differences in scope, with Your Story Your Say working intensively with just 34 people, while knowmore has grown into a national organisation that supports over 15,000 clients per year.
Example systemic change support: knowmore
knowmore was initially established in 2013 with the primary mission of aiding people who were providing information to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This work served to support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse and to highlight the systemic failures with a view to including lived experience voices in systemic reform. knowmore's commitment to justice, survivor support, and institutional accountability helped shine a light on widespread abuse and create a space for survivors' voices to be heard.
knowmore supports survivors in navigating the National Redress Scheme, an initiative designed to provide acknowledgement and support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. knowmore also provides critical support to the Stolen Generations survivors regarding the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme, assisting with legal advice and financial counselling.
knowmore can now provide legal advice and support for people who experienced child sexual abuse in non-institutional settings. In addition to legal assistance, knowmore maintains a dedicated team comprising specialist social workers and counsellors. This multidisciplinary approach ensures that the psychological and emotional needs of survivors are addressed alongside their legal challenges. Their financial counselling service further augments this support by providing advice to survivors about their rights and options, advice for instance about receiving and safeguarding their National Redress Scheme payments.
knowmore provides a salient example of how legal services can participate in systemic reform initiatives while providing direct services to those in need of legal assistance.
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